Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

January 5, 2024

Jeffrey Stuart Guillebeau, 59, of Charlotte, North Carolina died, leaving time for eternity, on January 5, 2024 at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center. Born on October 16, 1964 and the son of Thomas Leroy Guillebeau and Linda Jane O’Neal Guillebeau, Jeff graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Journalism. While at Carolina, Jeff was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Jeff is survived by a daughter, Olivia Laurel Guillebeau and a son, Evan Jeffrey Guillebeau; brother, Gregory Scott Guillebeau and sister-in-law, Diane; and a nephew, Christian Caleb Sisk.

While called home to share in God’s divine nature, Jeff began this work in his earthly years. He enjoyed a successful career in the packaging industry, most recently with International Paper, but the life of this great man was built on four pillars: Faith, Family, Fitness and Fellowship.

Jeff was a natural leader, a force of nature, a man who knew no half measures and precious few full measures. An avid reader, sneaky-good cook and habitual connector of people, all living things were drawn to Jeff like iron shavings to a magnet. He loved great poetry, wrote good poetry, and never met a microphone he didn’t like or a country song he felt he couldn’t, and therefore shouldn’t, cover. But one word and one word only explains the charisma of this most uncommon man: Love.

Love for his family in Brevard, North Carolina, who first taught the boy the values that made him who he was. Remember where you came from. Stay in the fight. Be on time. Answer the call. Keep your word. Be grateful. Be humble. Do the work. Don't complain. Be a loyal friend. And most important, love, always love.

Love for God, who surely knew His scrappy and intensely loyal creation was going to be one of His more colorful and effective apostles, especially among men. Jeff followed the advice of St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” His character, first formed by his family, was forged in fire at Camp Deerwoode in Brevard. Under the tough love of proprietor Bill Mayes, Jeff learned the old-school values - integrity, discipline, bravery, honor, loyalty, accountability and love – that made him the indispensable man he became. Mantras he lived by, like “Everybody Leads”, “Leave It Better Than You Found It” and “Growth Through Struggle,” and others he frequently exclaimed to nobody in particular, like “You Gotta Pay The Price To Look Nice”, first found voice at Deerwoode. 

Love for his children, who have lost a father but not his legacy or his lessons, and certainly not his love, which is no less accessible now. Strong though he was, they saw their father’s gentleness. This was perhaps Jeff’s most important Deerwoode takeaway, best expressed in the words of St. Francis de Sales: "Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength." Evan and Olivia know their dad was strong for them and gentle for them because they were the most important people in his life. Jeff’s understanding of the importance of living an other-directed life was at the heart of his Christian journey.  

Love for Pat Reddin, who somehow made a very good man even better by her own quiet testimony of a life rich in faith, love, and meaning. It's a special woman indeed who was able to capture this profoundly good man’s heart. Pattie did this instantly and completely and, like a cat in the sun, Jeff basked in her delightful glow.

Love for his brothers - for there were no male friends with Jeff, only brothers - not least those incredibly fortunate few on his beloved Campos, a fellowship of men hand-picked by Jeff to hone lessons first learned at Deerwoode. These men are close to one another, none more so than Jeff was to his best friend, Evan Miller. Jeff was the Gus McCrae to Evan’s Woodrow Call from “Lonesome Dove,” one of Jeff’s favorite books. They laughed easily and often together, but loyalty was their defining trait. There simply was nothing one would not do for the other. Jeff named his son Evan to honor his truest friend.

If Camp Deerwoode turned boys into men, then Campos turned men into better men. This was Jeff’s vision. He knew the Deerwoode values of his boyhood were needed in manhood – his own and everyone else’s – so Campos was born. These men will miss Gx (as they called him), who could both make them confident enough to run up a hill blindfolded in the predawn darkness, and lighthearted enough to believe they were ten years old again, if only for “just an hour” on Saturday morning.     

Perhaps Jeff’s greatest legacy to us who remain is he taught us how to leave no important thing unsaid to the ones you love. Countless men and women strengthened good relationships and repaired troubled ones because they saw Jeff practice this constantly. We find comfort drawing on that good counsel as we mourn, and honor his legacy by practicing it always in his memory. Love is a choice, an act of the will. Choose it, do it, show it and say it.   

Profound grief is felt by so many that he left us with his badly damaged heart, but soon tears will, and should, subside. Jeff loved to say “early is on time and on time is late”  - yet another Deerwoode and Campos lesson - so when God called, Jeff didn’t hesitate. Not from fighting for his life with everything he had, and not from letting go when he knew it was time. 

Jeff stayed in the fight on the operating table beyond human endurance and, ultimately, paid the price. He knew then, and perhaps always, what we realize only now: Ten Olympian hearts couldn’t have supported the love Jeff demanded of the one God gave him. It simply wasn’t in Jeff to love any less, so this was his destiny, but thankfully the story doesn’t end there.

Jeff was made by God who is Love itself, and Jeff returns to God, human love back to Divine Love, time unto eternity, scarred heart to Sacred Heart, where surely he has heard from his Savior these very words: You have loved as I intended. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come and share in my Sacred Heart. 

God rest your immortal soul, Jeffrey Stuart Guillebeau. You are now a part of Divine Love. We love you.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 12:30 PM on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at Brevard First United Methodist Church, 325 N Broad Street, Brevard, North Carolina; officiated by the Reverend Veranita Alvord and the Reverend Charles F. Gibbons. 

Due to the extreme cold, the reception immediately following the funeral service has been moved from Deerwoode Reserve to The Parker Concert Hall at the Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Lane, Brevard, NC 28712.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to  Jeffrey Guillebeau Disaster Relief Fund | Kingdom Builders https://www.kingdombuilders.us/gx.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service. Online condolences can be shared at:  http://www.kennethpoeservices.com